I have several homelite gas yard tools... My oldest, the strait shaft 31CC weedeater, is messed up after ~7 years. Seeing if you think its repairable or should toss it and buy another...

Initially I thought I had a fouled plug because it would run half speed at WOT. I replaced it and the same... I cleaned the air filter, changed the gas with new mixed 50:1 with a splash of seafoam and sprayed a little carb cleaner through the carb... Still nothin... Is the motor shot???

Thanks!!

 

the fuel line rots off, look at where it goes into the tank and then look at the inside of the tank. One small crack in the line is all it takes.

 

Raoul can hook you up with a weedeater.

 

 

It idles and mid ranges fine, but thats all its got.... WOT wont shut off, only stays at mid range...

Got some pointers to check the carb gasket and the exhaust screen... Ill add the fuel lines to it... If all that doesnt work, im gonna look into a stihl or echo...

 

Does it bog or just die when going to WOT? Sounds kinda like the choke is sticking.
I had one a while back that had the fuel tank to carb hose problem FYI

 

Also if it has a throttle cable, make sure it hasn't stretched or come part way loose. Had that happen on a lawn mower once.

 

hmm... It runs medium at WOT and at medium throttle, doesn't die at all...

 

Can you get anymore RPM's by working the choke around? Also take the air cleaner completely off and run it to see what happens.

 

At 7 years old, for all you know that piston and rings could be shot. Id throw it in the trashcan and go buy youself a Stihl.

 

i would like to know if this works for you.

there may be a spark arrestor screen on the unit that is clogged up.

it is a little screen around the size of a dime or so, that on mine sits kind of deep inside the exhaust port on the muffler, and you wont see it unless you are looking for it..

pull the screen and see if its clogged. i had a very similar problem once, and that turned out to be the problem.

 

Homelite uses a single ring for compression and the only has 1 rod bearing. The motors are rated for 250 hours of normal operation before a rebuild it due. Truth be told though they are not worth rebuilding. So after 7 years you have just plain worn out the motor. I am sure the compression has slowly deteriorated over the years. You could throw money at it, but it just aint worth it. Echos are rated for over 750 hours of use, have a shorter stroke, much higher RPM range and use dual rings and dual crankcase bearings. You can always tell if the weed wacker is single bearing or double. Single bearing the pullstarter will be between the piston and the shaft. On a dual bearing motor the pull starter is on the very very back of the motor.

 

What you pay $70 for it and it lasted 7 years... thats $10 per year....

For a stihl or echo ro any other high priced unit with $200 price tag to compete, they'll have to run 20 years.

I buy the cheapest Homelites at walmart, and am happy to get 2 years out of them. I wont even spend the time to change the spark plug. if it fouls, or takes more than 10 pulls to start at any given time for any reason.... I sell the trimmer for $20 then go buy myself another new one.

 

1) Put the HomeLight in the trash can!
2) How much do you use the weedeater?

This will confirm if you should purchase another "cheapy" or upgrade to a Echo or Stihl; they are both GREAT products.

 

This is true, for small lots about anything will work. Coming up on 3/4+ Acre though I would reccomend a commercial grade machine.